Our Visiting Fellows Scheme allows current and potential collaborators to spend time engaging closely with our team

Our ethos is that improving engagement and collaboration between researchers, conservation practitioners in the international and local NGO sectors, policy makers and influencers as well as related businesses will help to create and implement more effective and impactful strategies and interventions on the ground, informed by scientific research. This will help to bridge the widely recognised mismatch between academic research and conservation practice for issues surrounding the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. Conservation organisations contain many highly skilled individuals who have substantial experience in implementing conservation on the ground, and often have collected excellent datasets which could contribute to the academic evidence base on policy effectiveness. However, often they do not have the time, technical skills or academic environment within which to write these datasets up for publication, nor exposure to academics which can help ground theory in practice.

The programme offers such individuals (or other academics) the chance to spend up to 3 months with our core research team as well as our wider affiliated ICCS group at the University of Oxford to enable and develop collaborative publications, ideas or proposals. The Fellow will be encouraged to take part in a range of valuable interactions with other academic colleagues, students (undergraduate and post-graduate) and potential donors. Visiting Fellows will be encouraged to take part in and contribute to current or upcoming engagement initiatives, workshops or events, such as Trading Ideas or our annual Wildlife Trade Symposia.

Through this scheme, funding is available to cover travel and accommodation costs (not salary) for Visiting Fellows. For further information or to express your interest, please contact Nafeesa Esmail.